Sports

Monday, January 15, 2001

Eagles lose big lead, but still win big game

By JON FULBRIGHTStaff WriterPECOS, Jan. 15, 2001 -- Sometimes, the best thing a team can do in
dealing with the pressure of blowing a big lead is just blow it as soon
as possible.

The Pecos Eagles shut out the Canutillo Golden Eagles over the first
five minutes of their game Friday night, and held a 15-point lead with
2½ minutes gone by in the second quarter of their District 2-4A
girls' basketball game. But by the time the second half was two minutes
old Canutillo had gotten things together, taken away the Eagles' composure
with a series of turnover baskets, and grabbed a 23-22 lead on a foul line
jump shot by Gracie Borjas.

However, the Golden Eagles' comeback was so fast, it left Pecos with
14 minutes to right themselves and stage a small comeback of their own,
as the Eagles were able to pull out a 41-38 victory at the Pecos High School
gym.

"I went to a zone to try and give them a little rest, and we got a little
bit lazy, then we started to rush things," said Eagles' coach Veronica
Valenzuela. "I had to call a time out to calm them down. We're not used
to being in a lead situation."

Pecos' second straight district win -- after winning only two district
games in the past two seasons -- was led by guard Marisela Arenivas, who
struggled in the team's 2-4A opening loss to Clint, and spent much of last
Tuesday's win at Fabens on the bench. On Friday, she led all scorers with
17 points, including a trio of 3-point shots, the first giving the Eagles
an early 8-0 while the last broke a 36-all tie and put the Eagles ahead
to stay.

The Eagles came out of a strange first quarter with a 15-6 lead, even
though they managed just one point in the game's first 3½
minutes. Philly Fobbs got Pecos' first basket with a short jumper, Arenivas
followed with a pair of baskets, including her first 3-pointer, and Jessica
Rodriguez added a couple of baskets in the closing minutes.

Canutillo, meanwhile, was running their plays correctly until they had
to finish things off. The Golden Eagles couldn't score until Borjas hit
a side jumper with under three minutes left in the period, and could have
been down by even more, except for a couple of missed foul shots by Rodriguez
in the closing seconds of the period.

Arenivas' second 3-pointer and a foul shot by Fobbs widened the gap
to 20-5 before Canutillo finally got their plays to pay off. They scored
13 points to close out the period, several on rebound baskets by Lori Estrada,
and held the Eagles to only a pair of free throws and went in at halftime
down by only a 22-18 score. Borjas then nailed a 3-pointer to open the
third period, and followed it up with her foul line jumper for a 23-22
Golden Eagle lead.

But having seen their big comeback succeed, Canutillo relaxed. The Golden
Eagles began putting up a lot of shots from 3-point range, and while Daida
Garcia did hit one -- to offset a Rodriguez 3-pointer and tie the game
after three periods at 28-all -- it took them out of their inside game
t hat had been so effective at the end of the second quarter.

Canutillo would get the lead two more times, at 32-30, 34-32 and 36-34
on a Garcia lay-up, a short jumper by Nicole Chaires and a corner jumper
by Borjas. But each time, the Eagles had an answer, as Christina Arenivas,
Fobbs and Marisela Arenivas hit jumpers, Arenivas then nailed her last
3-pointer, and after Estrada scored on a rebound basket to narrow the gap
to 39-38 Fobbs found Christina Arenivas under the basket for a lay-up and
a three-point lead.

That came just after both Arenivas missed lay-up chances off steals,
and the Eagles missed four foul shots in the final minute that could have
put the game away. But Canutillo never was able to get off a tying shot,
having one blocked by Fobbs, then throwing the ball away twice and then
seeing Estrada miss a jumper from inside the 3-point line with three seconds
to play.

After Arenivas' 17 points, Rodriguez was next high scorer for Pecos
with seven. Christina Arenivas, Dee Dee Molinar and Fobbs all finished
with five points. Estrada had 11 and Borjas nine to lead Canutillo, which
fell to 1-2 in district and 9-15 on the season.

The Eagles are now 5-10 on the season and will be at home again on Tuesday
against current district co-leader El Paso Mountain View. The Lobos were
outscored 21-2 in the fourth quarter by Clint on Friday and saw a 30-22
lead turn into a 43-32 loss, dropping them into a tie for second with Pecos
in the 2-4A standings.

Canutillo did win Friday’s junior varsity game, by a 35-23 final score.
Leslie Rodriguez led the Eagles with 12 points.

Canutillo’s quick guards too much for Pecos

PECOS, Jan. 15, 2001 -- The Canutillo Golden Eagles big post player Eddie
Hita figured to give the Pecos Eagles problems inside on Friday night.
Instead, Canutillo’s leading scorer watched from the bench as a couple
of guards frustrated Pecos all night, and helped the visiting Golden Eagles
come away with a 59-42 win in the District 2-4A opener for both teams.

Abraham Moreno scored 14 of his 22 points in the first half, and all
but four of his team’s points overall, as Canutillo went in at halftime
with an 18-14 lead. Then guard Jose Rodriguez took over, pouring
in 20 of his 22 points in the second half, most of those coming off turnovers,
as the visitors used their quickness to make up for the absence of Hita
due to a sprained ankle.

“It’s a whole different world playing out there,” said Eagles’ coach
Tino Acosta, referring to the style of play El Paso area teams favor. “We
hadn’t seen quickness like that all season. We’ve played some of the best
Permian Basin teams, but they shocked us by how quick they were in the
passing lanes.”

With the 6-foot-3 Hita out, the Eagles had one of their rare size advantages
on Friday. But they were done in by throwing too many soft passes that
the Canutillo guards stepped in front of and took the other direction,
especially at the start of the first and third quarters.

The Golden Eagles had a series of steals at the outset of the game,
but didn’t get the fast-break chances they would have later, and only Moreno
was able to provide any offense, scoring all of his team’s points in the
first period and overall the first 14 points of the night.

Canutillo led at one point, 8-3, but the Eagles cut that back to 8-6
on a 3-pointer by Alex Garcia. Pecos would trail by as many as six in the
second period, but cut that back to 16-14 on a Joey Ortega steal and lay-up
and two free throws by Adrian Tarin before a late basket by Jerry Urieste
made it 18-14 just before the halftime buzzer.

That turned out to be the start of a 12-0 run by Canutillo, with the
final 10 points all coming on Rodriguez lay-ups to start the third period.
That turned a four-point deficit into a 14-point hole for Pecos, and while
the Eagles stopped the run after that, they weren’t able to cut into the
lead until midway through the fourth quarter, when a couple of baskets
by Freddie Torres made it 46-35.

The Eagles then had a chance off a steal to get to within nine, but
Torres didn’t see Garcia behind him under the basket, and lunged for the
pass inside, knocking it out of bounds. Canutillo then went on an 8-2 run
to put the game away.

“That play just killed us. We were making a little run, and that would
have been big,” said Acosta. “Our effort was there, but our execution wasn’t.
We had our chances, but we just have to get better.”

Ezra Varela led Pecos with nine points, while the loss left Pecos at
0-1 in district and 4-14 overall going into Tuesday’s home game against
El Paso Mountain View, 51-49 losers to Clint on Friday. Canutillo also
won Friday’s junior varsity and freshman games, by 60-40 and 46-32 scores.
Jason Sanchez led the JV with 14 points and Oscar Parada topped the ninth
graders with eight.